Homemade Minestrone Soup

I feel like homemade soup sometimes can get a bad wrap…“it takes too long, I don’t know what to put in it, it’s bland, etc…” but this homemade Minestrone Soup is so easy and so flavorful I promise you’ll never want to eat canned soup again!

The weekends see a lot of soup-making at my house! Not only is it easy but it’s the perfect way to use up al of the odds and ends veg that is hanging around the fridge and countertops left over from the rest of the week…and this homemade minestrone soup is no exception! The best part? You can put the leftovers in a glass jar and it will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks, or freeze, for months!

What you are going to need to buy:

Tomatoes (3-4), small, diced - This is honestly the perfect way to get rid of tomatoes that have gone a little squishy in the fridge. As long as they are not moldy, they are going to be just fine for soup.

White or Yellow Onion (1), medium - (Cut into chunks. No need to be too pretty, it’s all going to cook down anyway.

Minced Garlic - (We like the jarred kind from Spice World)

Tomato Paste, 1 tablespoon

Olive Oil

Veggie Broth (2-3 cups) or your favorite veggie bouillon cubes - (we like THESE from Edward & Sons)

White Mushrooms, sliced

Non-Dairy Butter - (We used Earth Balance)

Veggie Stock or Bouillon Cubes - (We used THESE from Edward and Sons)

Roasted veggies of choice, about 3 cups, total (We used baby potatoes, carrots, broccoli, baby corn, and snap peas, but again, use what you’ve got on hand!)

Dry Pasta - 1.5 -2 servings (We like orecchiette for this but any small shell or noodle should do)

Fresh Herbs - (Use what you like, use what you have. We used some rosemary and lots of curly parsley!)

Salt and Pepper, to taste.

Parmesan Cheese for topping - (Our favorite is THIS DAIRY FREE OPTION from Follow Your Heart)

What you are going to need to do:

Start by cutting your tomatoes and onions into 1” pieces - No need to be too pretty, it’s all going to cook down anyway.

In a skillet, over medium heat, stew the tomatoes, onions, and 1-2 tablespoons of garlic until the veg is soft and mushy. (This should take 5-10 minutes)

Once a lot of the liquid has cooked out of the tomatoes and has evaporated, add the tomato paste to the skillet and stir to incorporate. Continue to stir so that the tomato paste cooks, but does not burn for about 90 seconds, to 2 minutes. Mixture will be thick.

Remove from heat and into a soup pot add the stewed mixture, the veggie broth and rosemary (or preferred herbs). Stir and return to stove-top, allowing stock to simmer, but not boil. Cover with a loose lid so that you don’t loose too much to evaporation.

Now, Roast those Veggies!

Cut all your veg into bite size (1/2 to 1 inch) cubes. Making sure everything is roughly the same size allows all the veg to roast at about the same speed. Oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

No leftover veggies and no time to cut and chop? THESE PACKS from Birdseye works just great. Simply dump the frozen veggies on a tray with oil, salt, and pepper, and roast like you would fresh!

Roast at 375 for 20 minutes, checking half-way through to make sure nothing is browning too quickly.

For the last 3-5 minutes of the roast you can turn the oven to a low broil to really make sure you get some nice color on the veggies. Watch this closely! All ovens broil at different rates…and you don’t want them to burn.

Assembly:

At this point, I like to use a stick blender in the stock liquid to bust up any remains of tomato skins, herbs, or large chunks of onions. We are not looking for it all to be super smooth, just not too chunky, so pulsing the stick blender in short bursts works better. You could also transfer and do this in a traditional blender, if you like.

After blended, into the simmering stock, add the pasta, and increase the heat to achieve a low boil. Allow pasta to cook for 8-9 minutes. Add more water, if necessary.

Add in all of the roasted veggies to the pot and like to add a bit more curly parsley at this point.

Simmer another 3-4 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with more fresh herbs and grated parmesan cheese.

Pork Fried Rice with Fresh Veggies and Garlic

The trick to any fried rice recipe, including this one, is “day-old-rice.” This is a great dish to plan to have for dinner towards the end of the week, like a Meat Free Friday meal (or even on a Saturday afternoon) because it uses up all the leftover things that you probably have taking up space in your fridge from earlier in the week!

Yummy fried rice paired with Beyond Meat’s Plant Based Brats, even the meat-eaters in the family will ask for seconds! This recipe is really adaptable so don’t worry if some of your ingredients (like the veggie selection) varry a little! If you don’t have any day-old-rice hanging around to use for your fried rice base then you can always cook up a batch, strain and spread out on a small sheet tray and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Fresh rice, straight piping hot and from the pot simply has too much moisture to “fry” up properly and you’ll end up with a slightly soggy or chewy end result.

What you are going to need to buy:

Rice

Veggies (use what you have in the fridge) or a frozen bag from the store works just fine. We used corn, green beans, peppers, and onions.

Butter (for a Vegan Recipe we used Earth Balance)

Egg (for a Vegan Recipe we used VeganEgg from Follow Your Heart)

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)  

Plant Based Brats - (We used these from Beyond Meat)

Soy Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Sesame Oil (optional)

What you are going to need to do:

In a large skillet saute’ your veggies in a small amount of butter and garlic. This is especially important if you are using frozen veggies because they will likely have more water/moisture that you will want to cook out.

Add your egg, or VeganEgg to the veggies and stir vigerosly so that the egg coats the veggies and cooks at the same time. You’ll likely have some small, pea-sized pieces of egg along with the veggies and that’s what you want. Use a spoon or spatula to break up any larger pieces of egg.

Add another 1-2 tablespoons of butter and bring heat in skillet to medium high. Add in rice and stir to combine with veggies. Add soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. This would also be the time to add more garlic, if desired. Stirring every 15-20 seconds for 3-4 minutes, or until you notice the rice and veggies starting to brown and get slightly crispy. Be careful not to burn!

Remove rice and veggies and place into a glass bowl that can be covered to keep warm. I like to set my bowl on the stove behind the burner that I am using so some of the residual heat can work to keep it warm while you cook the brats.

Cut your brats, on an angle, into 1” thick pieces. Over medium heat add butter to the skillet and place braut pieces into pan with cut sides down. At this point, I like to sprinkle the brats with a little worcestershire sauce and additional garlic. Cook until you see that the cut sides are picking up some color and then flip, about 1-2 minutes per side.

Serve the brats over the fried rice and garnish with a drizzle of sesame oil, if desired.

Enjoy!